شیر
šēr/ˈʃeːr/
The Persian word for milk is شیر (šēr).
The term شیر refers to the liquid milk. You can use specific phrases to describe different types of milk, such as شیر تازه for fresh, unprocessed milk. To specify the animal source, you can use شیر گاو for cow's milk, شیر گوسفند for sheep's milk or شیر بز for goat's milk.
Meaning: liquid (noun)
Which one should you use?
Note that شیر is a homonym. It can mean both 'milk' and 'lion' depending on the context of your sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is romanized as šēr. The IPA transcription is /ˈʃeːr/.
Did you know?
- The Persian word for 'faucet' or 'tap' is also شیر. This is because the handles of early taps in Iran were often sculpted to look like lion heads.
- In Persian poetry, the contrast between the softness of شیر as 'milk' and the strength of شیر as 'lion' is sometimes used as a literary device to show duality.
- If you see the word شیر in an astronomical context, it refers to the constellation Leo.
Examples in context
- کمی شیر اضافه کن.Add a little milk.This sentence is useful for practicing the addition of شیر.Tatoeba #823718 by mahdiye, translation #19454 by CK
- شیر بیشتری به من بدهید!Give me more milk!This sentence is useful for requesting more شیر.Tatoeba #795665 by pliiganto, translation #530547 by wma
- برای شیر ریخته زاری نکن.Don't cry over spilt milk.This sentence shows the use of the idiom involving شیر.Tatoeba #12178834 by cojiluc, translation #4850071 by CK
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sara and Reza are in the kitchen making breakfast.
- سارا Saraرضا، شیر در یخچال هست؟Reza, shir dar yekel hast?Reza, is there milk in the fridge?
- رضا Rezaبله، ولی خیلی کم است.Bale, vali kheyli kam ast.Yes, but there is very little.
- سارا Saraمن برای قهوه‌ام شیر می‌خواهم.Man baraye ghahve-am shir mikhaham.I want milk for my coffee.
- رضا Rezaباشه، من برایت می‌ریزم.Bashe, man barayate mirizam.Okay, I will pour some for you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry شیر, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries شیر, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
